Jent discussing head coach job with Gene Smith

With Ohio State athletic director Gene Smith's search for a new men's basketball coach accelerating, a name close to home is entering the conversation.

According to a source close to the situation, current OSU assistant coach Chris Jent was to have an audience with Smith on Wednesday and was expected to make his case for the position.

Last season marked a return to the coaching staff for Jent at his alma mater, where he was previously an assistant under Matta from 2011-13 before accepting an assistant coaching position with the NBA's Sacramento Kings. As a player, Jent spent four seasons (1988-92) with the Buckeyes before embarking upon a professional career that included two seasons in the NBA.

He spent two seasons as an NBA assistant coach, a period that ended with an 18-game tenure as interim coach for the Orlando Magic before he returned to Ohio State as a volunteer assistant for the 2005-06 season.

From there, Jent headed back to the NBA to work for the Cleveland Cavaliers and worked extensively with LeBron James, who credited Jent for helping him develop his jumper.

Smith fired coach Thad Matta on Monday after 13 seasons as head coach and is conducting the coaching search himself. The process is expected to be a speedy one, with the critical July recruiting period looming. A source has said that some current players on the team have been told by Smith that they will have a new coach by the end of this week.